PSA: Non-Retina MacBook Pro 13-inch is a terrible purchase

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When Apple updated its line up of iPads and MacBook Pros last week we noticed that the 4th generation iPad had been retired, but the iPad 2 kept on sale. I figure that was a clever way to get you to spend an extra $100, Apple’s way of forcing consumers to opt for a newer device while still allowing schools and other bulk buyers to save money.

What I didn’t realize at the time was Apple had also decided to keep offering the older, comparably poor alternative to the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. This laptop is the MacBook Pro 13-inch — the one with the optical drive, spinning hard drive, and 1280×800 display.

If you visit Apple’s online store right now and go to the MacBook Pro section, you will see a line up similar to that pictured below. Next to the MacBook Pro with Retina Display options you can see on the left a MacBook Pro in its own section, cordoned off from all of Apple’s good computers.

At first glance it actually looks like better value than the Pro to its right. It lists a faster processor, the same RAM, a much more storage, and the price is$100 cheaper. But beware, you really don’t want to purchase that model any more.

It may be $100 cheaper, but the MacBook Pro 13-inch is a poor alternative to the new models if you look at the specs. The 2.5GHz processor it runs is an Ivy Bridge unit, not the latest Haswell chip from Intel. That means the performance is worse and they sip more power. As you can see from the listing it also has a battery that lasts two hours less than the latest models. So it’s slower and you’ll spend more time at a power outlet.

Then we have the biggest differentiator: the display. The old MacBook Pro has a resolution of 1280×800, where the new one is 2560×1600. This means the screen on the new one model is miles ahead of the old one, offering incredibly crisp, detailed Retina graphics while allowing the user to scale from smaller, but incredibly lush resolutions to the full-on 2560×1600.

Add to that the longer battery life, the much faster, if smaller, SSD, a thinner overall design, and the better processor, and the extra $100 you need to spend is more than worth it.

So if you are in the market for a new MacBook Pro, keep your mouse to the right, and avoid that non-Retina MacBook Pro at all costs.